"We put new countertops in, new hardwood floors, a new roof and a new deck, because the house was 20 years old," Taft told Elite Street. "And since the market was bad, there was no point in trying to sell it, so we took our time."

Idex CEO trades up

Andrew Silvernail, CEO of Lake Forest-based industrial firm Idex Corp., paid $4.5 million for a 13,700-square-foot mansion on 2 acres in Lake Forest and sold his now-former house there for $1.88 million.

The same parties were involved in both deals. Silvernail bought his new, six-bedroom mansion from a Lake Forest executive while at the same time selling his 7,317-square-foot house elsewhere in Lake Forest to that same executive.

Silvernail's new mansion has 91/2 baths, a loggia, a step-down family room, two master suites, a hearth room, an elevator, a home theater, a wine cellar, a billiard room, a gym, a pool and a sport court. The seller had paid $5.3 million for the mansion in 2006 and first listed it last year for $6 million. In April, the price was cut to $4.95 million, and it sold several months later.

Meanwhile, Silvernail had paid $1.7 million in 2009 for his now-former home, which was built in 1990 and sits on a 1.38-acre lot. That house has 61/2 baths and was briefly listed in May for $2.19 million before Silvernail took it off the market.

A graduate of DePaul University's law school and the CEO of SPX since 2007, Kearney long had had a pied-a-terre in Chicago. The 55th-floor unit has 31/2 baths, south, east and north views through floor-to-ceiling windows, motorized window shades, a fireplace, custom cabinetry, a home theater system, custom closets, quartz countertops, bamboo floors, Snaidero cabinets, and fixtures made by Grohe, Dornbracht and Toto.

Kearney and his wife, Susan, purchased the unit in 2008 for $1.9 million. They listed the condo in May.

Actor Jay Huguley has spent the year in New Orleans shooting TV shows “Treme,” "Star-Crossed" and "Ravenswood," not to mention the Steve McQueen film “12 Years a Slave.” Although he is grateful for the work -- and for room service on the road -- Huguley confessed that he...

The University of Illinois' rescinded job offer to a professor and a controversy over a faculty blog at Chicago State University helped land the two schools on a 2014 "worst of" list for student and faculty free speech rights.